Claws That Slash and Teeth That Gnash
by Snow's Blood Rose
Summary: Ventus runs away after Terra and Aqua play a joke on him. He gets sucked through a strange hole and ends up on another world, ending up in a forest. He meets a young girl with silver hair by the name of Zel. Except there's more to this girl than meets the eye. (Ven x OC. I don't own Kingdom Hearts, only my OCs! Rated T to be safe.)
1. 1: A New World and A Forgotten Friend

This was so, so wrong.

Why were Aqua and Terra ignoring him? Was it something he did? It was like he didn't exist! Well, if he didn't exist here, then he'd go somewhere where he did. Summoning his glider, he hopped on and escaped into the sky. Ventus wanted to go to another world. Here was his chance. He would go somewhere where he mattered. Escaping into the night sky, Ven didn't hear the calls of his two friends.

He'd show them. They didn't care about him. He'd find someone who did. Just as he neared Radiant Garden, he felt something go wrong. And then a black hole opened in front of him, sucking in everything within a thirty feet radius. Screaming, Ven tried to pull his glider out of range, but it was too late. He was sucked in and then there was silence.

A young silverette leaned over an unconscious blonde boy on the ground. The teenager's large, feathery wings were outstretched to keep the boy from burning in the sun. Silver eyes, as silver as the person's hair, were stretched wide in concern. The skirt the teenager wore shifted in the breeze. The person crouched down, careful not to ruin the skirt, and pressed a berry against his mouth. When it entered his mouth, the teenager stroked his throat, ensuring that he swallowed it. Suddenly he coughed, and the person's hand flew to the flat chest the person had in shock.

"Hey, are you alright? Who are you?" the silverette asked, concerned. The boy groaned and sat up, the person reaching out a hand to touch his back. He groggily looked over at the teenager and smiled slightly. Blood dribbled out of his mouth.

"I'm fine, I think. My name's Ventus, but you can call me Ven. Who are you?" the blonde boy asked. The silverette pulled a handkerchief out of the skirt's pocket and gently wiped away the blood. It got the fabric messy, but oh well.

"Me? It's been a long time since anyone asked for my name."

"Really?" The boy had an expression of disbelief written all over his face. "Well, can you tell me your name?"

The person smiled. "My name is Zel. It's nice to meet you, Ventus."

**AN: I know this chapter was short and sucky, but I promise the chapters will be longer in the future! This is an AU and does not in any way follow the KH:BBS storyline.**


	2. 2: Unversed Took My Mother

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, which means I don't own Ven, Aqua, Terra, Xehanort, or Vanitas either. I own only my OCs!**

Ven had never seen a prettier girl. Even Aqua didn't compare to the silverette that was now leading him through the forest. Her hair was boyishly short, but it was long enough that it reached her shoulders. Her soft, warm hand had a hold of his, and he could just barely manage to keep his blush down. Zel was adorable. She had fussed over him the moment that she had gotten the chance, inspecting him for injuries. When she hadn't found any, she'd seemed to relax.

And then he'd unknowingly agreed to come with her to her home, all the way out into the middle of the forest. She practically dragged him along, but that was okay. She'd seemed so surprised when he asked for her name that he just had to make her smile somehow. And that "somehow" was agreeing to see her home. Anything to protect the smile on her face. Briefly, he wondered if his hand was too rough for hers.

Finally, her pace slowed down and he was led into a clearing. There was a lone cottage in the center, but it seemed to be kept well. When they neared, a boy with flaming red hair and amber eyes stepped out from the door. He seemed rather confused when he saw Ven. He was soon knocked out of the way by a pink blur, which knocked Ventus over.

"Hey! I've never seen you before, who are you? Why were you with Zel? OOoo, maybe you're one of those beasts that took Mother away! Are you? Are you going to-"

"Kitten, that's enough," Zel giggled. She pried the pink-haired boy off of Ven, apologizing. "I'm sorry about Kitten. He gets easily excited, but ever since those black monsters came, he's been on edge."

"Black monsters?!" Ven hopped up and summoned his Keyblade. "Those are called Unversed. They… took your mother away?"

Zel looked at the ground then. "Yeah. She died saving my brothers and I from the monsters. We found her body all ripped up and destroyed."

"I'm sorry," Ven apologized.

"It's alright. It's not like you brought them." She smiled then, a bright smile which made him wonder. How could she smile like that after talking about her mother's death? Then she noticed his Keyblade, and a look of awe came upon her face.

"Oh, a Keyblade! You have one!"

"How do you know that this is a Keyblade?"

"Well, it's a blade and it looks like a key. I've seen a few before. Some of the people that come here had them."

"What were their names? Did you get them?" Ven asked, dread creeping up on him.

"Oh, yes. I get everyone's names, though not everyone gets my name. There was a tall man named Xehanort, and a black-haired boy named Vanitas. They both seemed wrong in the head."

Ven sighed. "They're bad people, Zel. Don't go near them if they come back, okay?"

"Okay."

She trusted his judgment? Just like that? Well, okay. The teenager at the door who'd gotten trampled by Kitten was standing up now, eyeing Ven's blade.

"No weapons in the house," he said with a suspicious look on his face. Then he went inside, looking rather wary of Ven.

"What was his deal?" Ven complained to Zel, letting his weapon disappear.

Zel giggled softly. Dear Keyblades, that giggle was adorable. "Oh, don't mind Shrike. He's just grumpy because I left without telling him. Come on, you can come inside. Don't summon your Keyblade in there though, or Shrike will have your head on a silver platter!"

She led him inside, but he couldn't help but notice that she seemed kind of sad.

**Yay, longer chapter! :3 I'll try to update daily, don't worry!**


	3. 3: Meeting The Brothers

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts! I own only my OCs!**

Inside, they were greeted yet again by the pink-haired boy. Ven only just then noticed the boy's cat tail and ears. Well, his name certainly fit, then. The cat-boy bounced around Ven for a moment before staring into his eyes. The boy's eyes were green, greener than anything he'd ever seen before. Zel chuckled and pulled Kitten away, telling him to go "find some ice cream or something".

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ven laughed, watching as Kitten got all excited and darted away.

"Nope. But it's not my problem; it's my older brother's problem." Zel smiled again, and he found himself wondering how she smiled so brightly. Before he could ask, Zel spoke up again.

"Come on. I think you'd like Kitten's twin, Wolf, a bit better."

"Let me guess, Wolf is part wolf?"

"Yup."

As it turned out, Wolf only looked similar to Kitten in the sense that he was the same height and had the same body structure. Wolf was paler than his pink-haired twin, and looked a lot different. For starters, Wolf's ears were longer and narrower, and his tail was less smooth-furred. The boy had cobalt-blue hair and fur, and his eyes could have been mistaken for ice, they were such a pale blue. Wolf also had a slight problem with his jaw, Ven noticed. The blunette's lower jaw was crooked at such an angle that a fang poked out from his mouth. This didn't seem to cause a lisp, however.

"Nice to meet you, Ven." Well, the boy was polite.

"The same to you, Wolf."

Then Zel took Ven to meet her only younger brother, a 13-year-old boy named Squirrel. They had to go into the basement for this, as Zel explained that her brother disliked sunlight and was always using his gypsy magic to make potions. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Zel knocked on a metal door.

"Squirrel?" she asked, "I have a friend I want you to meet."

The response was, "Come in, come in, as long as your friend isn't mean, he can come too!" from a voice that sounded much too young to be able to be left alone.

So the two entered the room. Ventus quickly noticed that everything was completely and utterly in a chaotic mess. As they made their way across the room, the blonde boy noticed a figure coming towards them. It was revealed to be the youngest brother, Squirrel.

Squirrel had black hair that was so perfectly brushed that Ven wondered if the boy had just brushed his hair. One eye was covered from his hair, and the one that showed was a light turquoise color. He detected a faint purple glow from where the boy's other eye should have been. Feeling frightened, he felt Zel shift one wing around his side, comforting him the best she could. His skin was even paler than Wolf's skin, and Ventus noticed a pair of bat wings extruding from the boy's back.

"Ven, this is Squirrel. Squirrel, say hello to Ven."

"Hello, Ven." Squirrel's voice was distracted as he walked past the two. "If you'll excuse me, I'm in the middle of making a potion to make Kitten sleep at night."

Ven's stomach rumbled around dusk. Zel giggled adorably and made dinner, her silver hair damp and shining with the colors of the rainbow. Dinner was rice with stir-fry vegetables and deliciously cooked chicken on top. Ven found that he enjoyed eating with small family of five siblings, feeling as though he belonged there. He found it particularly funny when they started calling each other sins.

"You're one to talk about eating your food fast, Gluttony!" Shrike laughed when the cobalt-haired boy tried to get his brother to stop eating so fast. Wolf was already on his third serving and Kitten was barely done his first!

"And you're one to tell me not to get mad at Squirrel when he shoots me with tranquilizers for fun, Wrath!"

"Both of you, please calm down and eat," Squirrel sighed. The youngest boy sat in a shadowy corner of the room, watching with a slight smile on his face as he watched.

"Oh, please, Sloth, you lazy bum, don't you tell us to calm down! It's your fault that Kitten gets to hyper at night from one of your stupid potions!" Zel called out.

"Hah! Envy, I bet you're just envious that I'm smarter than you. Or maybe you're Pride right now, and your pride has been wounded by the fact that I'm better with magic than you are?" Squirrel smirked, taking another bite of food.

"Envy's better at making food than you are! Last time you tried, Sloth, you nearly killed us because you wanted to add cyanide!" Kitten cried, calling Squirrel out.

"Shut up, Greed, I know you eat gems when no one's looking! I see Lust in your eyes whenever you pull one out of the ground." Wolf snickered, jabbing his twin in the ribs.

"At least I don't eat anything and everything, Gluttony!" Kitten retorted.

"Alright, guys, time to stop fighting."

"You're one to talk, Wrath," Zel pointed out, delicately eating her food. Shrike rolled his eyes as he finished his plate. Somehow the argument with Wolf and Kitten got to the point where they had an eating contest, ending in both of their plates empty and both complaining of a stomachache.

"That's your fault, you two," Zel scolded gently. "Now go to bed and I'll get you medicine." When the two started to complain, Zel warned, "Hey! Do you want me to make Squirrel make you medicine?"

That shut the both of them up, and they hurried away into the kitchen and then upstairs. Zel smiled, collected their plates, and then noticed that Ven was finished eating.

"So, Ven, did you like the meal?" Zel asked, taking his plate too.

"I did. Thank you, Zel."

Zel smiled, such a bright smile for one who had lost so much. "Go upstairs and into the first room on the left. That's my room, but you can sleep in there with me tonight."

Then she left with the plates, and Ventus was left wondering why his face felt so hot.


	4. 4: So What's Wrong Again?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, only my OCs!**

Sleeping in Zel's room turned out not to be as embarrassing as he thought, at least for the first half of the night. She had a bunk bed, so she slept on top so that he could have bottom bunk. However, at about 4 AM, Zel had a really bad nightmare. She woke up crying and Ven had to hold her until it was 9 AM. She refused to leave his side for the nest hour, but her brothers seemed to understand.

About noon, Zel finally detached herself from Ven's arm, gave him a little peck on the cheek (which made him blush uncontrollably), and went off to do… well, whatever. He didn't exactly know what she was going to do. Ven's attention was caught by Kitten, trying to pounce on a butterfly. Kitten very suddenly stopped, ears pricked, and his fluffy hair just suddenly… well, the best word to describe it would be "deflated", but the boy's pink hair just suddenly went flat.

He stopped trying to pounce on the butterfly and just sat down, staring at the ground. Ven decided to approach the boy.

"Hey, Kitten. Are you okay?" Ven asked.

"There's something wrong with the ground…" Kitten muttered in response, which Ven assumed was the closest he would get to an answer.

Going inside, he noticed Shrike sitting in the corner, facing the wall.

"Shrike, are you okay?"

"There's something wrong with my fire and I refuse to move until I figure out what!" was the answer that Ven got. Thoroughly confused, Ven went to go find Wolf. Wolf seemed on top of things a lot.

"Wolf?" Ven called, poking his head into the kitchen. To his surprise, he found Wolf gnawing on a piece of metal. He seemed jumpy.

"Bad things. Very bad things. Something's wrong with the water. Bad bad bad…" Wolf said, taking a bite out of the metal pole.

Concerned, Ven found Zel in her bedroom. She was lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling. Her wings were outstretched to the point that one wingtip touched the wall and the other touched the lower bunk of her bed.

"There's… something wrong with the air…" he heard her mutter. So he slowly backed out of the room and went to go find Squirrel. If his brothers didn't have answers, he sometimes did. Squirrel wasn't anywhere in the house, and Ven spent an hour verifying that. Going outside, he saw Squirrel sitting in _broad daylight._ It was strange, since Ventus had been told that Squirrel didn't like sunlight and usually slept during the day.

"Squirrel? Is everything alright?"

"Not really. There seems to be something wrong with the plants and animals today…" To prove it, he pointed at the sky. Ven had to squint, but he made out bats circling in the air. In broad daylight? Then the younger boy pointed to a hibiscus flower, its vines growing around Squirrel's body, even though the black-haired boy sat a good four feet away.

Then Squirrel's attention flicked to something else. "Oh, good. A nice little purplish-black demon. Wonderful."

Ven immediately summoned his Keyblade and attacked it, destroying the Unversed. He noticed the plant shift away from Squirrel for a moment. Unversed must be making the siblings act weird. He tried to focus on the bats again, but he couldn't. So what could be wrong with the air? Glancing to the ground, he didn't see anything. But Kitten was playing with the ground… As Ven watched, Kitten suddenly squealed and _pushed his arm through the ground and pulled out an Unversed. _Kitten squealed again, and Ven realized that the pink-haired boy wasn't in pain. He was _laughing!_

Kitten laughed again and slashed his claws through the Unversed. It dissipated, but instead of disappearing, it turned into black smoke and wound its way up Kitten's arm. Kitten shook it off and it disappeared. Kitten hopped up onto all fours and began to pull Unversed up. When he noticed Ventus watched, he grinned maliciously.

"Hey Ven! Let's play a game! I'll get the monsters and you can kill them! If you lose, you get to be tortured by me!" Without warning, Kitten flung an Unversed at him, and he barely had time to lift up his Keyblade to kill it. Kitten kept up the demented game, flinging Unversed of all kinds at him. When it was all over and Kitten couldn't find anymore, he seemed disappointed for a second before the boy's hair fluffed back up.

"Yay, the ground is all better! Thanks, Ven~!" Kitten bounced away, as though the "game" had never happened.

Ven wondered: if he got each sibling to do something like that, could he get them back to normal?

**Weee, fun! ****For you guys' information, yes, I based Kitten on Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Deal with it.** **Also, you guys, please review! I mean, well, if you want to. But I'd love criticism, since this is my first fanfic. If I'm doing anything wrong, if I make mistakes, I'd like to know. Or if you like what I'm doing, can't wait for the next bit, I'd like that too! Anything! But you guys don't have to review. I'd like some feedback, though!**


	5. 5: Harder Than It Looks

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts! ****I wish I did.**

After Kitten went inside, Ven glanced over to Squirrel. He wondered if the black-haired boy would help. Well, time to give it a shot. The blonde walked over and tapped the younger boy on the shoulder.

"Squirrel, do you want to play a game to get rid of the Unversed?"

"…Alright." Squirrel slowly stood up, and he pointed to the forest. "Let's go out there. The problem is originating from the center of the forest."

So the two walked. Squirrel seemed to have no problem walking through the undergrowth, but Ven had a harder time. Occasionally, Squirrel would stop and have to pull the plants off of his body, since they were growing so strangely around him. Ventus also had to destroy certain plants, being in the way. It took about half an hour, but they finally made it to the center of the forest. Unversed were there, causing the plants to shift and twist under them. When they saw the two, the monsters dove into the plants and hid. Squirrel took it upon himself to draw the Unversed out by touching the plants with his fingertips.

"Come now, little monsters. It's time to play a game!" Squirrel cackled. It was terrifying to see such a young kid (just 13 years old!) be like that.

So Squirrel used his magic to pull the Unversed out of the plants, tossing them carelessly towards Ventus. Several of them landed blows on Ven, but just when his health dipped past 20%, Squirrel waved his other hand and cast a Curaga on the Keyblade wielder. Squirrel, however, seemed to be tiring quickly from this use of magic. The Unversed must have realized this, because they started to swarm out of their hiding places. For a while, Squirrel could hold most of them back so that Ven wouldn't get overwhelmed.

As exhaustion took its toll, however, Squirrel eventually couldn't stop them at all. The younger boy collapsed, and the Unversed took their chance. Squirrel was tied to tree, limp and unconscious, and Ven was going to have to fight the Unversed to get him back. It made Ven angry, really, to see the Unversed use a child as a means of antagonizing him. Was Vanitas around here, then, doing this on purpose?

"Alright, you want a fight? Well, you can have one!" Ven shouted, surging forward. The next few minutes were a blur. He slashed and hacked and used every command available, healing himself when he had to. Nothing seemed to really hurt him. After the Unversed were defeated, Ven kept whirling around, looking for another enemy. When it finally sank in that it was over, Ven suddenly felt how tired he was. But he still had a job to do.

Lifting his Keyblade, Ven cut through the ropes that bound Squirrel to the tree. The younger boy fell onto Ven, surprising the blonde boy with his incredibly light weight. Ventus practically dragged the younger boy through the forest, walking back to the little house. Once there, Ven just set the boy on the couch, covered him with a blanket, and went upstairs to sleep. It was 11 PM now anyway. Zel was still on the floor, but as he entered the room, she turned her head towards him. When he got into bed, she crawled up next to him and snuggled. He would have been embarrassed if he wasn't so tired.

So, he fell asleep with a pretty girl next to him, snuggling with him even, and the knowledge that he'd have to get up in the morning and fight more Unversed. Unbeknownst to Ven, this was only the beginning.

**I had fun writing this chapter. And now my fingers hurt from typing. Also, sorry that this chapter is a little shorter. NEXT CHAPTER: Going Swimming With Wolves**


	6. Swimming With Wolves: Pt 1

When Ven woke up, he could hear crashing sounds from downstairs. Zel had moved back to the floor, staring at the white ceiling and muttering about something being wrong. Her eyes were unfocused, as though she wasn't really there. Giving her a concerned look, Ven went downstairs. There, he was met with a very, very surprising sight.

Wolf, the one who normally so level-headed and calm, was rushing around in a frantic frenzy. He was making quite the mess, running into walls and cabinets. A mess of dishes lay on the floor, and as Ventus got closer, he realized that each dish had a bite taken out of them. Wolf hadn't _really_ tried to eat the dishes, had he? There was no way he'd still be alive if he had, right?

Then again, he was learning that the family of siblings seemed to bend the laws of nature, bend the laws of physics, and even bend the laws of logic. So maybe he had tried to eat the dishes. Zel wouldn't be happy about that when she went back to normal. He heard another crash and whipped around in time to see Wolf take a huge chuck out of the carpet. His tail wagged mournfully.

"Wolf, do you want to go swimming?" Ven asked. Wolf jumped and tore around the living room, running headfirst into another wall. Rearing up onto two legs, Wolf wobbled. Shaking his head, he looked Ventus in the eyes. The blunette looked nervous.

"Swimming? Um, maybe not now maybe later um there's something wrong with the water and it's probably not a good idea to um go swimming right now maybe later yes maybe later-" Ven shushed the teen by grabbing the boy's wrist and dragging him out the door. The wolf snarled and struggled the entire way to the forest. Once at the border, Ven faced the now quiet and nervous-looking Wolf.

"Now," he asked, "where is your main water source?"

"Um that would be the lake but there's something wrong with the lake so maybe we should go tomorrow or well when it's all better because I really don't-"

"Where is your lake?"

"Just a few feet from here over near the west side of the forest but you aren't really considering going there now are you because um-"

"Great, let's go!"

Ven dragged the poor kid all the way there, though he noticed Wolf become more attentive the closer they got. Soon, it was Ven being dragged along as Wolf broke out into a run.

"Hey! Just because you're excited-" Wolf stopped, causing Ven to fall onto his back. In only a moment, Ven found himself riding piggyback on the other teen. Wolf was pretty fast, the trees only a blur to Ven. Gradually, Wolf began to slow. He came to a complete stop at the edge of the water. Wolf dropped Ven, his body freezing up.

Where clear water should have been was black, inky goop. Wolf suddenly started snarling. The boy's ears pricked, tail utterly still, hackles raised. Ven looked at Wolf's feet, wondering how he stood on all fours without his knees touching the ground and found… paws? It made a little bit of sense. No wonder Wolf walked sort of funny.

"What's wrong with the water?" Ven asked Wolf, who was slowly becoming more wolf-like as the seconds ticked by.

"It's a mystery, hydrology," the boy barked. Barked? Well, okay then.

"Hydrology…?" That had to be the study of water, right? Ven wasn't sure; he thought Aqua might have mentioned it once or twice… Suddenly, Ven found himself on the back of a water-walking, frenzied, cobalt-blue wolf who ran across the water like it was ground. The blonde boy found his Keyblade in his hand, and Unversed coming from both sides. Ven blinked, and grinned. It was time to roll.

**I am so sorry that I stopped updating. I just could not get muse, and it's still gone, at least for this story. I'm planning on starting another one something soon. In the meantime, here's what I got done of this chapter while I still have muse!**


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